


What Goes Up

by mirrorphoton



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Basically everyone on the ark I'll add more tags as people come up, Eventual Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Eventual Smut maybe, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-01 19:41:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4032235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mirrorphoton/pseuds/mirrorphoton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Earth is yet again a ticking time bomb, and there's only one place left for a desperate Commander to turn for help.</p><p>or</p><p>What if instead of the Ark coming down, the Grounders go up to meet it.</p><p>EDIT: This work is on HIATUS at the moment, because I am a fool who went in with no actual plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Plans and Pledges

**Author's Note:**

> Don't have this entirely planned out yet, but I've got a basic idea. 
> 
> Just to clarify, same universe as the 100, except Jake is alive and Clarke was not imprisoned for the knowledge of the Ark failing, but the rest of the 100 are in lock up. 
> 
>  
> 
> But first, on the ground...
> 
> EDIT* HIATUS ATM because I am a fool who went in with no actual plan. Don't know when/if I'll be updating this.

"Look, we don't know how she got it, it's moot at this point. It’s very clear that she intends to finish what was started 100 years ago. She's going to wipe us all of the face of this Earth."

"But this is your solution?" Lexa hissed at Dante, as she stared down at the diagrams on the cold metal table.

"We might remain safe in the Mountain, but there is no guarantee. We can't stop her. We've been working on this for years. We know they are up there but we can't get a signal through to them." He explained again, “They might be able to do something we cannot.”

"Why me, though?" She would never admit to being fearful, but there was apprehension in her heart at his plan.

He gazed at her coolly. "The radiation will kill any of my people, and we need to send a leader."

_Of course._

She sighed, knowing he was right. She had run every scenario she could think of through her mind, but come up with nothing else that might work to stop the madwoman, but it was far too late and people would die in every scenario. At the very least, this way there was a chance a few might survive. She tried not to think of the possibility of the plan going wrong leaving them dead as well.

"How many can go?"

He paused again, thinking. "We don't know what resources they have available, we can't send many or risk straining them. We also don't know how hospitable they will be.” He looked at the diagrams before him, Finally he said, “Choose 7. Bring them here in two hours time, we will need to do some training if we are to succeed.”

She nodded. She already had a few choice warriors in mind for the mission. “I will gather them quickly.”

 

* * *

 

Gustus was first because he was standing guard outside the meeting chamber. When she told him the plan he looked like a caught fish gasping at the air for several seconds before he regained his senses.

 “ _Heda, forgive me, but this plan is madness._ ” He finally said.

“ _Yes._ ” She agreed, “ _But it is the plan._ ” She left no room for argument as she made her way toward the exit tunnels.

The Alliance with the Mountain Men was an unsteady one. Warriors from the twelve clans would periodically donate their lifeblood to the mountain people, and in return the mountain shared with them their medical technology and weaponry, as well as the secrets of the past.

It wasn’t an ideal situation for either side. The Mountain men were working toward a cure so they too might be free to leave their cursed home one day. But it was better than the bitter feud that had been going on before Lexa had taken command and reasoned with them. Part of her had wanted to simply kill them all, but she was glad they had resolved their bitter history in an uneven peace. Many of her people were still resentful, but none would outwardly oppose the Heda, they simply stayed away from the Mountain.

It was very fortunate that they had made the truce in time to work out the deadly plot against all of them. Lexa shook herself from her thoughts as she approached the exit tunnel. Gustus was a step behind as usual. She knew he disapproved of all of this, but it was not his place to challenge her.

Anya, she found at the small encampment outside the tunnels, huddled over a small campfire against the winter chill already in the air.

She ordered Gustus to fetch several others she had in mind, knowing the warriors were at the main camp not far. He left to do as bidden while Anya offered her a stick of meat she was roasting. Lexa hesitated only for a moment, but allowed a small smile to grace her lips as she accepted it.

When Gustus had disappeared, Anya spoke, “ _How bad it is?_ ”

“ _Bad._ ”

They sat near the fire, eating the meat in silence. A wave of nostalgia washed over Lexa, for a moment it felt like it once had. Memories of huddling over the small cook fires as they kept watch over the woods at night; Anya and her second. There were some days; days like today, that Lexa wished she had never been called to lead the people. That things could be this simple. She sighed, bringing herself back to the present.

Anya was watching her, her lips twitching as if she wanted to speak. But they stilled and her eyes found something in the flames to latch onto. They sat in silence for several minutes, until Lexa could no longer take it. She stood and stepped into the nearby meeting tent, taking a fountain pen and a sheet of paper.

She slowly penned a letter in gonasleng. At times it was inconvenient that trigedasleng had no written form, but in the case of sending messages like this, it was very useful. Only warriors could speak gonasleng, and very few of them knew how to read it.

Just as she put her wax seal on the scroll, she heard Gustus return with her requested warriors, and she bade them enter the small meeting tent. It was just large enough for a small table. They surrounded it, and she took a moment to look around at each face. Gustus, Indra, Echo, Lincoln, Nyko, Tristan, Quint, Anya.

“ _The evil one,_ ” She began, nothing about her betraying her nerves, “ _Has found another bomb_.”

Lexa raised her hand to halt the inevitable grumbles of shock and anger, “ _We do not have the forces necessary to stop her, and if we move against her, we may all very well die. I have discussed options at length with the Maunon and-”_

 _“I will not cower in their mountain!”_ It was Quint who snapped first.

She eyed him coldly, _“No Kwint, you will not.”_ He seemed to have realized his error, but it was too late. She could only take seven with her, and now she knew which they would be. “ _You are to deliver this message to Luna of the Boat People.”_  She held the wax sealed scroll.

He took the scroll carefully, “ _Heda-”_

 _“Ride swiftly Kwint_.” He nodded, taking his dismissal in stride. Quint was a good man, too hotheaded to be sure, but he would do his duty, Lexa knew.

 _“The missive Kwint carries, declares that in my absence, as I complete a mission for the good of our people,”_ the words rolled off her tongue, heavy, _“Luna is to lead until such time that I or my spirit returns.”_

She waited a moment to see if anyone else would have an outburst, but after Quint’s dismissal, they managed to keep themselves in check. She could see the emotion in their eyes.

_“After lengthy discussion with the Maunon, the best course of action is to seek the help of the Skaikru.”_

When she paused this time, it was with the expectation of some response. It was Echo, “ _Heda,_ ” the warrior hesitated, “ _Is the Skaikru not a myth?_ ” Echo hailed from the Ice Nation, far from this area so Lexa was not surprised by the question. She turned to Lincoln, giving him a nod.

 _“When I was a boy, a man fell from the sky. He was hurt, and I did not yet speak his tongue.”_ Lincoln’s words were quiet, “ _The Skaikru is real. But how will we seek their help?”_

_“The Mountain conceals a ship capable of reaching them, and they are sending me, and those I chose as ambassadors. The Maunon cannot go themselves because the Sky has the radiation that they cannot survive just as the ground does."_

The discussion continued for several minutes as Lexa outlined the plan. " _This is a volunteer mission, there is no guarantee of survival either way. Decide for yourselves and pledge me your answer in one hours’ time.”_

 

They had filed out, and each returned one by one.

First came Anya, who in no uncertain terms pledged herself immediately to help in whatever way she was needed.

Tristan stormed in next, his annoyance at being beaten to be first by Anya did not escape her notice. He asked what would happen with his rangers, then promised to defend her word with his life.

Indra had questions about other possibilities, but when she realized none would work she pledged herself as well.

Next Nyko asked why she requested him. Because he was the best healer she knew in all the twelve clans, she told him. He had smiled, pledged himself and gone to organize his herbs and remedies for the journey.

Lincoln was quiet, saying simply that he had always wanted a chance to speak to a Sky person since the first one he had met as a child. He would do his best to help make peace with them to garner their help. Exactly the reason she had named him as one of her chosen.

Echo seemed confused at being chosen. While her nationality did not inspire the Commander’s inherent trust, she had proven herself loyal to the coalition. Lexa informed her of as much, and that they needed her quick mind and wit.

Gustus entered the tent last. His face was grim as he pledged to protect her and do his best to bring her back to the ground safe.

 

When Lexa made her exit, she found the seven of them huddled around the campfire. It was just after midday, “ _Come, to the Mountain.”_ They stared up at the looming formation, apprehension in their hearts as they followed their Heda into an unknown future.


	2. No Turning Back Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trikru learn about the journey ahead of them and prepare themselves.

"You'll need to make sure your warriors are clear of all the tunnels, a good couple hundred feet away at the very least." The man that led the group down a long unfamiliar tunnel was telling them, his voice muffled by his protective suit. "When we launch they're going to fill with fire."

The Trikru could not help their gasps at the sight of the monstrous machine when it came into sight as the tunnel opened into a humongous cavern. A large red metal pillar, pointed at the top with two smaller white pillars on either side also pointed, extended high into the cavern. On the side facing them was smaller one with fins on either side. That looked somewhat familiar to Lexa, and she recognized it as similar to other ships from old times she had seen, that had once been used to sail the skies. The man led them to a table where Dante stood with another man; his son Cage, Lexa realized.

Dante gestured at the schematic before him. "This is the part of the rocket you'll be inside.” He pointed to the section with the fins on either side. This is where the fuel is held, and this is where the fire comes out that will shoot you into the sky."

Lexa knew he was 'dumbing it down’ for them, but the part of her that was offended was silenced by the practical part of her that knew they needed it that way, with so little time.

"When you break through the atmosphere, the last layer of air around the planet, the rockets and fuel tank will drop off, there will be smaller thrusters to help you maneuver to their station." He showed them another sheet that depicted that.

"How do you propose we do that?" Anya was the one to ask, "We have no training on steering your metal space-boat."

"I'll be doing it." The quiet voice had them turning. A girl stood before them. It was difficult to tell with her suit, but she appeared younger than Lexa even.

Lexa turned to Dante, her gaze questioning.

"Maya has been training on this equipment her entire life." Dante explained, "She has volunteered to go with you, as well as two others."

"You said it was a death sentence to send your people." The words were not accusatory, they simply were what they were.

"It probably is." It was Cage who spoke, "Hence, they are volunteers. You have no hope of reaching the Sky People without someone who knows what they are doing. Maya, Vincent and Keenan are all aware of what they've agreed to do. And we are going to launch at night, when the Sun’s radiation is blocked by the planet to buy you some time."

Lexa tried to hide her disgust for Cage, unwilling to risk himself when his people were knowingly putting themselves in harm's way. She turned to Maya, " _Mochof_ Maya, thank you."

The girl smiled, "I've always dreamed of getting to go to space."

"Go get your treatment from Dr. Tsing." The girl moved off to have her blood cleaned one final time. Dante returned his gaze to Lexa, "She's a brave girl. Now, we need to go over the differences between being on the ground, and being in space. First of all: Gravity."

 

Lexa knew not how long the bewildering conversation lasted. Part of her wondered how many of the things Dante told them were myths fabricated over time until they seemed like truths. It was all so far fetched. Yet, he had images from before the bombs, that seemed to corroborate many of his claims.

He showed them replicas of the equipment on their craft, how to relieve themselves in the tiny compartment, strange food that was powder but became edible when added to water. He showed them bags to sleep in if they had to do that while still on their craft.

"Now, when you get to the Sky people, I'm sure they have an artificial gravity field, as well as an air system." Lexa nodded."it's likely that if they do let you aboard, they'll have to quarantine you, much like we did. For your safety and theirs." His voice was apologetic.

Lexa scowled at the memory of being locked in the white room the first time they had entered the mountain. She understood why; they had different sicknesses. But that didn't mean she liked it.

Dante introduced them to Vincent, Maya's father, who got them fitted for what he called space suits. They were similar to the outfits the Mountain Men wore to breathe outside air, but heavier. Lexa hated the thought having to remove her armor, but she insisted on keeping her own soft clothes, as did the rest of her people. The jumpsuit the mountain men offered in place was strange and slick and they did not trust to wear it. They also refused to be unarmed. Lexa would bring her ceremonial blade, as well as her practical one, and her favorite dagger. Her warriors would also carry fewer weapons than usual, but none would be left helpless.

"Keep them sheathed then, if you cut through your suit you could very well die in space." Dante finally said. "The sky people won't likely take kindly to weapons, so only threaten them if you have no other option."

"Do they have guns?" It was Gustus who asked, but they all had been wondering.

Dante shook his head. "To fire a gun in space is risking killing all of them if it were to open even a tiny hole in their ship. It's likely they have something non-lethal, batons or tasers perhaps. Oh, also, don’t take anything that can start a fire. Fire is bad in a high oxygen environment, it will burn up the air and you won’t be able to breathe." Lexa sighed, adding her flint stone to the growing pile of things that would be sent back to camp.

They were introduced to Keenan, a pleasant woman about Anya’s age. She was the third of the Mountains representatives going with them. She told them about all the gear and supplies they had packed as a peace offering to the Sky People. Medicines, fresh grown and baked foods, seeds, and tools.

While the group listened in interest, Cage pulled Lexa aside.

"Look, I know you and I don't exactly see eye to eye," he whispered, "and peace talks are great and all, but I'm just saying, don't show them all your cards from the start, we don't really know what kind of people they are."

Lexa eyed him for several moments, "I could say the same about your people. But I see your point."

She returned to the conversation just as Keenan asked if they had any hobbies or crafts. Indra immediately informed the woman of her sparring skills. Keenan smiled, but shook her head, “I mean non-war related things.”

Anya asked if knife throwing counted as war related if it was at a painted target.

“I mean things like,” Keenan seemed to be thinking, “Juggling? Singing? Do you play a musical instrument?” They all stared at her blankly. “I’m asking because it will be helpful to make human connections.”

“I whittle.” They all turned to Lexa in surprise, well all except Anya and Gustus, both had seen her at it.

“Oh! That’s excellent!” Keenan replied eagerly, “Perhaps take some time to gather wood to take? They won’t have any.”

What an insane thought that was. It made sense that the Sky People would not have trees for wood, but to think of it in those terms was unsettling. No trees. No wood. No animals. How strange.

“I play the drum.” Gustus said after a moment.

They spent several minutes learning about each others talents and skills that were usually disregarded in favor of those that were useful in war. Tristan could make the calls of many different birds. Echo’s uncle had been a great storyteller, and she knew many of the great tales. Lincoln shyly confessed he spent his time drawing his surroundings.

 

“Very well.” Dante looked at a device on his wrist, “It’s well into the afternoon now. I suggest you fetch any items you may need, and say your goodbyes.” He paused, “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you not to tell anyone the truth of what you are doing.”

Indra rolled her eyes, muttering to herself about the incompetence of the mountain men's honor.

He simply shrugged, “And, take your time in the air, soak in the trees, the sights and smells, the sounds.” His voice was choked, “You may not have another chance to experience them.”

Lexa knew the man had been outside once, as a boy, before they realized the air was poison to them. To think she was willingly going into a box without any of that. She wondered for a moment if it would be better to remain on the ground, and face their inevitable demise. Breathing in the trees to their last breaths.

 

* * *

 

They made their way from the mountain silently, each lost in thought as they reentered the trees. This was home.

Lexa halted them in a small clearing outside of camp. “ _If any of you have second thoughts, speak them now._ _There is no turning back beyond this point._ ” It was unheard of for the Heda to give warriors an out after they had pledged themselves. They all glanced around at each other.

Anya stepped forward, “ _Heda, it must be done, and it is my honor to accompany your soul._ ”

Lexa clasped arms with her, looking at her former mentor, allowing the care she felt toward the woman show through her facade for just a moment. “ _Mochof_.” The rest of them followed suit.

“We shall return to this spot in one hour.” They scattered to fetch items, and to say goodbye to loved ones.

Lexa made her way to her tent, where she grabbed a pack and began filling it with pieces of wood that were ready to be carved.

She also opened the box she kept under her bed. Only a few items took residence there; a swan feather, a small red ball, a thin leather necklace set with an emerald pendant, and a wooden carved wolf. She took the necklace and strung it around her neck. She ran her fingers over the feather and palmed the ball for a moment before replacing the lid and sliding it back into place.

With a sigh she looked around her room, grabbing sets of spare clothes. She resisted the urge to grab more knives as she grabbed her ceremonial sword. She put on her best armor, and did her kohl.

She ordered Rivo to her tent, the dark skinned man was nearby, fortunately. He was next in line of command over TonDC after those Lexa was taking with her. If he was surprised to see her in full war gear, he hid it well. She informed him they were going on a secret mission to defend the clans against the foul monster that threatened them all. He nodded in understanding when she gave him orders to defend the village in their absence.

Once he was gone to order the men away from the mountain tunnels, she hefted her pack and went to the smoke house, filling the rest of her pack with bundles of dried meat. She ran into Tristan who was doing much the same thing. He shrugged, noting that the sky food did not sound very appealing. She agreed. Once her pack was filled to bursting, she made her way to the cook fires, taking an offered stick of roasted meat from a warrior.

She moved away from them to sit under the trees, committing the feelings to her memory. It was nearly nightfall, and her eyes rose to the sky where the first stars were beginning to peek out. She saw Anya across the camp, knelt next to Tris, her sister and second, speaking in the quiet tones she saved for those she cared for most. As Tris suddenly wrapped her arms around Anya’s neck, Lexa looked away. She continued to gnaw at her meat, though her appetite had vanished.

A few moments later, she felt Anya's presence beside her, and not long later Indra and Gustus. Tristan, Nyko, Echo and Lincoln were moments behind. They sat in a small circle, silently soaking in the feel of the world around them.

Lexa pulled a small empty pouch from her pack and collected a handful of dirt, allowing it to sift through her fingers into the bag before she closed the tie on it and placed it in her pack.

" _Do not let the Sky people know that I am Commander._ " She said finally, " _Until we know we can trust them._ " They nodded in agreement.

 

Finally, they could not remain any longer. Lexa stood and led them back to the Mountain.

 

* * *

She had her armor packed to go, along with a jar of kohl, she explained that it was important ceremonially, if they did in fact make peace. The Mountain men shrugged and did so. The items they brought were checked for danger.

Dante reiterated that the weapons were a last resort. Mountain men led them through a door into the secured hallway, they were sprayed with the gas that meant the mountain men could remove their suits.

They climbed several flights of metal stairs, until they reached a level where a glass window showed them to be at the height of the metal bridge that led to the rocket. The mountain men assisted them in putting on their space suits, showing them how to activate the ability to speak to one another and to hook up the air tanks that would let them breathe, and read the dial that told them how much air they had left.

Their packs were carried through the doors and placed securely onto the rocket as Dante went over last minute things. Vincent, Maya and Keenan were there, also suited up.

“It’s going to be very unsettling to your stomachs,” he was saying, “There will be pouches for you to vomit in if you need to, Maya will show you.” Tristan scoffed loudly at the idea that their stomachs were so weak, but Dante ignored him. “Once you get there, we should be able to establish solid communications with their station. Do you have any final questions?”

“How will we return, when the threat passes?” Anya’s question was quiet. Lexa knew she must have promised Tris she would do her best to return to her. She ignored the turn her stomach gave at the thought once more.

“This ship is equipped for a return journey,” he said, “The sky people may also have a way down as well. If they do not, this is capable of safely carrying a total of 18 people, at maximum perhaps 25, but absolutely no more.”

There was nothing more to say, they stood awkwardly for a moment, before their helmets were placed onto their heads, the communications set-up so they could speak to each other. Soon they were following Maya and Vincent through the doors and across the metal bridge toward the open doorway of the rocket. Lexa willed herself not to look down at the bottom of the cavern floor. She looked up, and saw large metal doors opening, she paused halfway across, staring up at the dark blue sky above, soaking it in from the ground one final time, before following Maya inside the rocket.

 

Everything was on its side, pointing up, she climbed up, using the same grips Maya had, until she found herself contorting into a large, cushioned chair that faced upwards, the sky once more visible through thick glass. Maya showed her how to strap herself into the seat, and she felt the others doing much the same around her. Once they were all strapped in, time felt strange. She heard Maya, Vincent and Keenan talking to the Mountain as they checked the systems. When the rocket began to rumble she closed her eyes.

She was sure all of her people were thinking the same thing she was, ‘ _Why did I agree to this again?_ ’

10...9...8...

The countdown began, and Lexa felt her body stiffen in anticipation, she did her best to relax it into the seat, as she stared up at the sky before them.

_Why did I agree to this?_

...3...2...1...launch

_Why?_

The sudden force on her body pushed all conscious thought aside, Lexa could merely stare ahead of her and hope that this was the right decision.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time... what's happening on the Ark?


	3. This is Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An ordinary afternoon aboard the Ark takes a shocking turn.

Medical was unusually quiet that afternoon, the last patient had left nearly an hour before, after Clarke had helped Abby stitch up a laceration on his hand, which she had done a fine job of.

"Very good, Clarke." Abby nodded in approval as she watched Clarke run the surgical simulation on the handheld screen in front of her. "You're on track to being one of the youngest doctors in Ark history, at the rate you're going!"

Clarke rolled her eyes at her mother's words, "I'm still like 8 years away, mom." By she smiled to herself.

"Maybe only 7 if you keep this up." Abby laughed. She glanced at her watch, “It’s getting late, Jackson will be on shift soon. All I really have left to do is check the quarantine area in Section 14…” She looked up at the slightly crestfallen expression on Clarke’s face. The girl had been dutifully helping her take samples of the bacteria levels for days, but it was clear she did not particularly enjoy the task. "But I think that's enough for you today. Why don't you go see if Wells is up for a game of chess?"

She smiled as Clarke hurried to shut down the program, putting the tablet away. She gave her a kiss on the cheek and a “Thanks Mom!” as she bounded into the hallway.

Clarke had always been a daddy’s girl, much to Jake’s delight. Abby took comfort in the fact that she had decided to follow in her footsteps professionally. It gave her a chance to be closer to her daughter. She was especially glad with her husband’s recent discovery about the failing life support system; she didn’t want Clarke getting dragged into that mess. Usually she might have sent her daughter to find him, but she knew he was working tirelessly in Tesla Station, as he searched for a solution. Jake would figure it out, she knew. He just needed time. With a sigh she prepared her testing kit and made her way down to Section 14, hoping the bacteria had dropped back to safe levels.

* * *

"Blake, where do you think you're going?"

Bellamy had just removed his cap and was halfway out of his coveralls when the voice he dreaded called out to him. "It's 4 pm sir." He swallowed hard.

"I don't believe I dismissed you." Bellamy clenched his fists and his jaw. He wanted nothing more than to hit the man, but he stood rigidly. All he wanted was to see his sister for fucks sake.

"It’s visiting day, sir." Bellamy finally managed to say quietly.

"I don’t give a flying fuck, Blake. There’s vomit in the mess hall, clean that up, then you can go." His boss was smirking. Bellamy sighed and pulled his coveralls back up. If he hurried he could get it cleaned up and down to lockup in time to see his sister.

* * *

Wells had just sat down in the common area, intent on pulling up the next book on his classics of the 21st century list on his tablet, when Clarke came bounding in, a grin spread across her face.

“Clarke! Done in Medical already?” He asked in surprise.

“Mom let me go early,” she said, taking a seat across from him. “How was Earth Studies?”

“Informative, today’s lesson went further in depth on plants with healing properties. I think you’d have enjoyed it.” His eyes couldn’t help but flick to where she was tucking a loose hair behind her ear. He swallowed.

“That’s neat,” she was smiling, “You up for a game of chess?”

He nodded; a game of chess with Clarke was better than a book any day. He couldn’t help but watch as she got up to retrieve a chess board from the game cabinet, his eyes trailing down her form. He closed them and shook his head, willing the thoughts away.

He had confessed his feelings for Clarke four months before. She had been kind but firm in her rejection, telling him that she thought of him as a friend, practically like a brother. It had stung, but he’d seen it coming. That was part of the reason it had taken him as long as it had to build up the guts to tell her in the first place.

Before he had made his confession, Clarke used to tell him about the people she was seeing or liked. It had been hard watching her gush over Rion, and later seeing her holding hands with Ella in the hallways. Since his confession, Clarke had stopped talking to him about those kinds of things, out of respect for his feelings, he suspected.

“Ark to Wells, do you copy?” His eyes snapped open, Clarke was seated across from him again, the box with the chess set in front of her. She looked concerned, “You okay?”

“Yeah,” He said with a half-smile, “I was just lost in thought.” He helped her set up the board, and made the first move, a white pawn two spaces.

As the game moved forward, he could tell something was bothering her. Her game was off, and the expression on her face was not one he could place. When he took her knight with a pawn, he finally spoke.

“What’s wrong, Clarke?”

“Oh,” she snapped out of her funk, and looked a little sheepish, "Sorry, Wells. I'm just...I'm worried about my dad. He's been working a lot lately, it seems like something's wrong but he won't talk about it."

Wells nodded, "I'm sure it will be okay, you're dad's always working something out."

Clarke reluctantly agreed, but her mind never quite returned to the game and he beat her soundly.

* * *

"Your parents coming today?" Jasper asked quietly. Monty was diligently writing equations on a handheld whiteboard from his bed across the small cell.

"No," Monty said after a moment, "They are working on synthesizing a genome to give the crops a longer shelf life." He said it casually, but Jasper knew he was hurting. Before he could say anything, Monty was complaining, “I don’t see why they won’t let me use a computer for this.”

“Because the last kid they let work with a computer tried to hack the system to make himself look innocent.” Jasper reminded him. Of course they had been monitoring his activities, and the boy had been sent to solitary for the rest of his time and floated a few months previously.

“I wouldn’t do that though,” Monty said softly, copying his completed equation to a piece of paper with a pen, careful to avoid errors, “I just want to help.”

The reason behind his desires, the hope that the council would see him as an asset and forgive his mistakes and free him instead of floating him at 18 remained unspoken in the air between them.

“My dad said he’d come see me today,” Jasper said after a minute, his eyes on the heavy metal door that separated them from the outside, "I'll tell him to tell your parents to come next week, no matter what."

"Thanks." Monty managed starting his next equation without looking up.

Jasper glanced at his own whiteboard, sitting on the floor. He knew he should be working, too. With a sigh he picked it up, drawing molecules as he worked through their mechanisms in silence.

* * *

 The numbers were being called over the intercom for those who had visitors. Finn was sitting in his cell, waiting impatiently to hear his number (220), that meant Raven was there to see him.

"...212, 218, 223..."

"That sucks buddy," his cellmate called from across the room.

"Shove it, Pascal." He grumbled, flopping back on his bed.

Pascal shrugged, but stood excitedly moments later when his number was called. As soon as the last number was called, the corresponding cell doors for those who had visitors swung open, a pair of guards stood at the ready at the end of each hallway to check them off and escort them to the visiting area, “See ya!”

"Yeah," Finn mumbled after him, wondering where Raven was.

* * *

"Sir, there's something unusual happening over North America."

Marcus turned in surprise to the man who was manning the Earth Monitoring Station. “What is it, Caspian?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” He scratched at his beard as he flipped on the main screen so the darkened continent filled it, and he gestured, “There, see it?”

Kane gazed at the image. The Ark was currently over the Atlantic, quickly approaching the continent. He saw a flicker of light somewhat near the coastline, but it was difficult to tell with that portion of the planet already shrouded in the darkness of the night. “A forest fire, perhaps?”

“I don’t think so sir,” Caspian shook his head, “It appeared suddenly.”

“Switch to infrared.” Kane ordered, and as Caspian did, his eyes went wide.

“Is that what I think it is, Sir?” Caspian sounded astonished.

“Continue monitoring, but say nothing to anyone.” Kane ordered, turning on his heel to go alert the Chancellor.

* * *

 "Hurry up, Reyes." The voice floating over the intercom was grating and impatient.

 "Go float yourself Riddley." She replied, "I want to be done just as badly as you, but this is a delicate process."

Raven was suited up, floating carefully outside the bay on Arrow Station. There was nothing she loved more than zero-G, but she was a little impatient to be doneas well today. She had to repair the damage to one of the satellites. The meteor shower the week before had left minor damages all along the outside of the station, as well as knocked off some larger pieces. She and the other mechanics had spent the last week repairing the damage. This was the last one.

 Riddley huffed through the intercom to show his impatience.

 "Jesus, if I drop my wrench, it's on you!" She snapped, startled by the sound.

 "Sorry," was his mumbled response. She continued working, tightening up the last bolt on the new part. She wanted to get done so she could visit Finn. "There, should be all set now. Run a system check-"

"Holy shit! Raven, look at the planet!"

Raven heard the awed tone, and knew it wasn't a joke. She grabbed a bar in front of her to maneuver herself around. When she saw it, all she could say was, "What the actual fuck?!"

* * *

 “Bell,” Octavia wrapped her arms around her brother tightly, “I was worried you weren’t going to make it.”

“My boss is a jerk,” He replied, “But I’d never miss a chance to see you.” He brushed her hair out of her face, as he sat down across from her in the visiting room, smiling. "Read any good books lately?"

* * *

After chess with Wells failed to distract her from her worries, Clarke took a walk trying to clear her head. She had her sketchbook with her as always, so she headed toward her favorite spot. It was a usually hallway deserted with a fantastically large window, the perfect place to view the planet spinning below, her dad always brought her up there when she was young and she found it helped her to relax.

 As she turned the corner, she was surprised to see someone up there, it was a rarely traversed area, but then she recognized him.

 “Dad?” Jake whipped his head around, smiling sadly at the sight of his daughter.

 “Oh, hey Clarke,” He managed.

 “I thought you were working?” She asked, hugging him.

 “I hit a,” he paused, “...a little snag. I just had to get out of there, clear my head.”

“Is something wrong?” She could see concern in his eyes.

“Nothing you need to worry about yet, Sunshine,” He smiled at her, “I just needed to take a break. I’ve got some tests running back at the lab, I can’t do anything until they finish. I' rather not be pacing down there.”

“I’m glad I found you,” She leaned into his side and set her gaze on the earth below.

“Me too. Our spot,” He mused, looking down at the planet as well, “I wish we could really see it, you know?”

Clarke was about to agree, when something strange caught her eye. She let go of her father to press herself to the glass, squinting. “Dad, there’s something moving.”

He followed her and they stared down at it trying to see what it could be, “Oh my God,” he breathed, “Clarke it’s a shuttle.”

“A shuttle,” Clarke was astonished.

“The Earth is survivable.” Jake said, his voice filled with sudden hope.

Clarke felt tears spring to her eyes at the thought, but before she could say anything else, the alarms began blaring throughout the Ark for citizens to take cover.

“There’s no way that is a coincidence.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know which characters you want to see more of, perspective wise!


	4. First Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Grounders and Arkers prepare to meet each other.

“It’s safe to remove your helmets now.”

It took Lexa a moment to register Keenan’s words. She didn’t know how to describe exactly how she felt, the great pressure was suddenly gone from her body and there was dizziness. With shaky hands she lifted and twisted off the helmet, breathing in the air in the shuttle, gasping as her organs felt like they were adjusting to being rearranged. A couple seats over she saw Tristan emptying the contents of his stomach into the pouch provided. Her own stomach felt queasy, but she suppressed the urge to follow suit.

“ _Mount Weather to The Ambassador, do you copy? Over._ ”

“Ambassador to Mount Weather, we copy.” Vincent replied, and the relief on the other end of the communication was palpable.

Lexa tuned the voices out as they began a technical conversation she did not follow. Now that her stomach had calmed, she realized there was an entirely new sensation; floating. The helmet, which she had set on her knees, had risen into the air before her. She reached to the buckles that held her in place and released them, watching in awe as she rose into the air with no effort.

She saw Maya had done the same next to her, a grin plastered over the girl’s face beneath her helmet. For a moment, Lexa wondered why the girl had not removed her helmet as well, but then she remembered the radiation. Lexa wondered briefly how much time the Mountain people had before it killed them.

“ _Heda, This is incredible!_ ” Anya said, as she floated up as well. Her foot connected with her chair, and she began flipping through the air until she collided with Lincoln who had just released his straps.“Oof!”

Indra and Gustus both remained strapped in their seats, gawking up at them, but unmoving. Lexa laughed to herself at how overly large Gustus was for the seat he was strapped into. Tristan and Nyko both looked ill, and even Echo was a little pale, though she made the effort to undo her straps.

Vincent grinned at them from where he was seated, steering the vessel, his communication with the mountain clearly over. “We can play for about ten minutes, then we’ll be close enough to talk to them.” He pointed out the window. Lexa grabbed handholds on the walls to pull herself forward to look. Space, as the mountain men called it, was black. So much darker than it appeared from the earth. And there were stars, countless more than she could even wrap her mind around, brilliant diamonds shining through the inky sky. There, in the blackness of space, was, something. It was still a ways away, but Lexa could see it sparkling and spinning, and racing across the sky.

“You’ve probably seen it from the ground,” Keenan said, flipping switches to keep them on course, “A star that soars across the sky, too slow to be a shooting star, but not still like the rest.”

Lexa realized she had seen it before, many times. She had often watched it sail overhead, and wondered after it. As she looked around, her eyes went to the window that was set above the seats of the vessel and her jaw dropped. It was the earth, like she'd never seen it.

A huge, dark round orb. Most of it was only visible in the darkness because it did not allow stars to shine thorough it. It was so dark, Lexa knew, because they were on the side of the night time. But along the curve of its rim, it shined brilliant blue where the edges of the Sun’s rays reached. She could make out the white wisps of clouds, and some brown she took to be land there. 

Lexa was breathless, unable to tear her eyes away. She ached to see it in the daylight, so her eyes could roam over its entirety and see all the colors and shapes this view of the planet had to offer. She didn’t notice Maya work her way over to her until the girl spoke.

“Now, I can die happy.”

Lexa drew her eyes from sight to look at the girl. She had always considered the mountain men to be weak and cowardly. They had chosen to hide from the world, instead of fight for their right to live. Any warrior in any clan would lay their life down if she asked them to. She hadn’t thought any of the mountain men capable of such selflessness, until today. 

“You are very brave.”

“A short time to experience this,” Maya smiled sadly at her, “is worth much more than a long life under the ground.

Lexa nodded in agreement with the sentiment.

* * *

“Chancellor, almost all non-essential personnel are secure in the shelter-zones.”

“Almost all?” Thelonious looked up at Major Byrne expectantly.

“Sir, a handful of citizens spotted the,” she paused, “...UFO, they have been detained separately from the general population, and there is one missing mechanic, who was outside when the alert went up.” She held a tablet with a list of those she was speaking of.

He gestured for her to hand it over, and let his eyes slide over the names. Almost immediately he spotted Jake and Clarke’s names, “Bring the Griffins, Clarke and Jake up here. Then have sweeps done and find the mechanic.” She nodded and moved to do as he bid.

“Sir,” Kane’s voice behind him made him turn. The rest of the council members had arrived at Earth Monitoring Station.

“Caspian, what is the ETA of the vessel for communications range?”

“Approximately 6 minutes, sir. They appear to be attempting to fall into an orbit similar to our own.”

He turned back to the Council, “We have 6 minutes to figure out what the hell we are supposed to do.”

“I think you mean we have 6 minutes to reconcile our minds with the fact that we are clearly not the only humans left alive.” The silence hung heavy in the air between them after Abby spoke.

“I suppose we’ll just have to open communications and see what they have to say.” Cole said after a moment.

“Caspian, have you pinpointed their origin?” Kane turned to the man, impatient.

“I have.” Caspian pulled up a map of the east coast of North America. “There.”

“Mount Weather.” Thelonious bit his lip, thinking, “That is an underground bunker designed to withstand nuclear war. It was thought that no one made it there in time, but clearly they did. This may mean the surface of the planet itself is still not survivable, if they resorted to coming here.”

“Sir, if it’s refugees aboard that vessel,” Kane hesitated , aware that with Caspian in the room and he had to speak carefully, “If Jake Griffin's early analysis turns out to be correct, it would be unwise to allow them on board.”

“Slow down, Kane. We don’t know what they are here for.” He frowned, “We haven’t been able to receive any communications from the ground, perhaps it is simply to establish it.”

Kane snorted, “Send up a shuttle just to say hello? I doubt it.”

At that moment, the doors opened, and Major Byrne returned with Jake and Clarke in tow.

Abby was about to move to hug her husband and daughter, but Thelonious put a hand up, “You two have been invited to this deck as emergency consult personnel. Anything you learn while here is confidential and not to be repeated without the express communication of the council.” He paid special attention to the way that Jake’s jaw clenched at the words. “Do you understand?”

“Yes.” They spoke together, in the same exact flat tone, and he frowned slightly.

“Clarke, you are here to assist Dr. Griffin in any medical related task that may come up in relation to this incident.” She nodded and moved to stand next to her mother. “Jake, as Senior Environmental Engineer you are here for advisory purposes-”

“Sir, we have incoming communication!” Caspian’s voice cut him off.

Thelonious turned to the the screens, and prepared himself. “Here we go.”

* * *

Lexa and the others had returned to their seats, and schooled their faces into the impassive masks they wore when meeting with new peoples. Lexa had very carefully removed her favorite dagger from its sheath, and was idly playing with it, careful to avoid the material of her space suit. It was one part nervous habit, one part intimidation tactic, their fierce warpaint also helped with that aspect. She could see Tristan and Indra doing something similar with their own knives out of the corner of her eye, and she suppressed a smirk.

Maya, Keenan and Vincent were all working to set up the communication. Two screens had dropped in front of the shuttle windows, one depicted President Wallace, seated behind his desk, he said a few words to them, to make sure they were all aware of what should be said. He had frowned at the weapons, but said nothing.

The other screen was currently black, but should soon show the faces of the Sky People if all went well.

And then it flickered to life. Lexa’s eyes soaked in every detail.

In the forefront, a man with a dark complexion stood rigidly, a simple dark sweater covering the visible portion of his shoulders and chest, a small round pin visible over his heart. Behind him, a handful of other people of varying ages and genders, all dressed very strangely. In a way their clothes were reminiscent of the Mountain Men’s, but they were mostly dark shades of cloth, and all torn in places as though they had been worn many times.

One girl with golden hair and clear blue eyes that shone with curiosity made Lexa’s breath catch momentarily, before she forced her eyes to move over the other faces. The man behind the girl was resting his hand on her shoulder, and bore a similar expression of interest and joy. Another man appeared a little more guarded, broody even. She took note of all the expressions on all of the people. Behind them were dark sloping metal beams, and a window to the space outside.

There was a pregnant pause as both groups stared at each other, taking in the details of human faces they had never thought they would encounter. Finally, Dante Wallace cleared his throat and spoke. Lexa assumed that in addition to being on the shuttle’s screen, he appeared on the Sky people’s screens as well.

“Greetings, I am President Dante Wallace of Mount Weather.”

The dark man dipped his head slightly in greeting a moment later, “Greetings. I am Chancellor Thelonious Jaha of The Ark Station.” He paused only for a moment, “I think we have a lot to talk about.”


	5. Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ground meets the sky, through video feeds, and the Council must decide what to do.

Clarke’s breath caught as she took in the images on the screen before them. On the left screen was an elderly man with white hair, seated behind an ornate looking desk, a rich landscape painting on the wall behind him. He was dressed in a suit, calling to mind the images from her history class of the political leaders before the war. It was very clear that he must still be on the Earth.

The other screen showed the people inside the shuttle. Clarke’s eyes were not sure what to focus on first. The three people in the front row of seats appeared like any person she might see on the Ark, a middle aged man and two younger women.

Clarke’s eyes only barely took them in before focusing on the eight people behind them. They were different, almost feral looking. Dark makeup circled their eyes in various patterns, Clarke realized it must be a form of warpaint, some of them bore tattoos on their faces as well. Their expressions were all stoic, hardened and wary. Long hair braided into intricate patterns adorned many of their heads, the others were shaved or cropped close. As her eyes trailed over each of them, they paused on a woman on the far right of the screen. She looked small compared to the others around her, though her age was difficult to gauge through the screen. Her warpaint slid down her cheeks like tear tracks, and her eyes were so, so green.

Clarke gave a small start as she noticed the woman was twisting a dagger between her fingers nonchalantly. Her father put his hand on her shoulder to calm her.

Her eyes flicked back to the other screen when the man behind the desk cleared his throat and spoke. “Greetings, I am President Dante Wallace of Mount Weather.”

Jaha replied a moment later, “Greetings. I am Chancellor Thelonious Jaha of The Ark Station. I think we have a lot to talk about.”

Dante nodded.

There was a shift inside the shuttle, several of the people glancing at each other, communicating with their eyes. It lasted only seconds, and then the largest man spoke.

“ _Ai laik Gostos kom Trigedakru_. My name is Gustus of the Woods Clan.” He struck a menacing figure with the sides of his head shaved and the rest of his long dark hair pulled back into a tight braid. Tribal tattoos ran down the sides of his face, and his bushy beard was wild on his chin. “I speak for the Commander of the Twelve Clans.”

A strange expression adorned Dante's face for a moment, but it was gone before Clarke could interpret it. He clasped his hands together in front of his chin contemplatively for a moment, “I must say, I have been running this moment through my mind for almost a week, and I am still not entirely sure where to begin, Chancellor.”

"I did not even know there was anyone alive on the planet until twenty minutes ago.” Jaha replied steadily, “So, perhaps start with that?”

Dante Wallace inclined his head, “I understand your shock. My people have resided inside Mount Weather since the time of the bombings. We too, believed we were the last people alive, until 56 years ago, when the first Outsider appeared on our monitors.” his eyes flicked to the side for a moment, presumably looking at a screen of the people on the shuttle, “The ground is soaked in radiation, my people cannot survive outside our walls.”

Clarke’s eyes flicked back to the other screen, taking in as many details of those people as possible, knowing now they must be outsiders. The dark skinned woman looked furious, her jaw twitching, but did not move.

“The outsiders, the clans, are the descendants of people who survived the radiation, and have adapted to it. For many years were have been in conflict, but we have put aside our differences through a common enemy. Last week we got reports that our enemy has somehow acquired a nuclear warhead. The intent is to eradicate all human life on Earth, completely this time.”

“So you sent up one shuttle, with eleven people?” Jaha sounded suspicious.

“We have made numerous attempts to contact you, but none of our signals ever got through. We need your help." Dante was blunt and straight to the point, "From your vantage point, you may be able to help us stop it, or if it’s too late, a few of us can have a chance to survive to return afterwards. At the very least, now you know you are not alone. Please understand, this is our last, desperate attempt. I’ve sent our only shuttle, The Ambassador, filled with resources as a sign of good faith.”

Someone appeared to be speaking to the president off screen, he shook his head a fraction of an inch.

“This is all very sudden.” Jaha appeared to contemplate, “The situation is very delicate here, this could instigate panic among our people. We will need to have a discussion with our council.”

Dante nodded once more, “I understand. We are, however, under tight time requirements, if you could make your decision quickly so we can come up with a contingency plan, it would be much appreciated.”

Jaha nodded, “Contact us again in fifteen minutes.” He gestured to Caspian who cut out the signal.

“Shoot them out of the Sky, its obviously a trap.” Kane was the first to speak.

“He said they sent up resources.” Abby was practical, “That could mean more medicine, clothes, things we are in short supply of.”

“Okay,” Kane said, “Let them dock, then float them and we have an extra shuttle and all those supplies. We can’t take any more people aboard.” The council’s eyes flicked to Jake.

He squeezed Clarke’s shoulder, and sighed, “It’s not conclusive yet. But by the sound of it, the Earth might be survivable after this threat passes. It’s my recommendation that we bring them aboard. Their resources could prove critical.”

Clarke couldn’t hold it in anymore, they were talking about those people like their lives did not matter. “Those are people.” They all looked at her like they’d forgotten she was there, “Real human people. Who have come to us for help. And we can learn so much from them.”

“What if it’s a trick?” Kane said. The council members began to argue, they were running out of time.

“Two minutes, Sir.” Caspian finally said.

“A vote.” The seven council members moved off to the side of the room.

When they returned, Kane was frowning as Jaha said, “It’s been decided we will let them aboard, in addition to resources, their alliance could prove immensely important if we have to go to the ground."

“What will we tell the people?” Kane asked.

“That is something we will have to work out. For now, the people stay in the shelter-zones, until we can get them docked.”

“They’ll need to be quarantined.” Abby said, “Until we can be sure it's safe-"

“Incoming communication.”

Jaha returned to his position before the monitor as they sparked to life. After the polite greetings, he said, "After a vote by our council, it's been determined that we will let you aboard. We will have to coordinate where will be the best place to dock you-"

Jaha was cut off by a loud clanging in the ducts. Everyone whirled to look, Byrne and Shumway both raised their electric batons and approached the offending duct.

“Whoever is in there, you have 10 seconds to get your ass out of that duct.”


	6. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After some commotion, the shuttle finally docks to the Ark.

Raven Reyes was in deep shit.

She closed her eyes, silently cursing herself for getting herself into this mess. After all Finn had done for her, taking the blame for the illegal spacewalk, here she was getting caught sneaking around the ducts to spy on a secret council meeting. She was going to float for sure.

"Get your ass out of there!" Shumway repeated.

With a pounding heart, Raven did just that, carefully crawling the rest of the way down the duct she had crashed in, until she reached the grate that Byrne had opened. The two guards grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and jerked her around to face the roomful of people.

"We've located that missing mechanic, sir."

Ravens eyes darted around the room, taking in the surprised faces before finding the screens they were looking at. She managed to gape at the people that showed there for a solid three seconds before Jaha’s words made her stomach drop.

"Take her down to solitary." Jaha said, "Until we have time to take care of her."

Raven quelled her panic and managed to keep her tone cool, even as the guards tried to drag her away, “Wait, hold up! You’re going to need me.”

That gave everyone in the room pause, time for her to think on her feet, “Look, you want to dock a shuttle to the Ark, you’re going to need a Zero-G mechanic."

"You disappeared outside of Arrow Station, and snuck through the ducts to get here," Kane said angrily, "This is treason. People have floated for far less."

"Now hold on a second," It was Jake Griffin's reasonable voice that cut through the air, pausing everyone. "Chancellor, she’s right. We are going to need a mechanic to help get that shuttle docked, and Raven's the best one on this boat. Plus, now we don’t have to pull a mechanic out from the rest of the population and confuse people." He lowered his voice and said something in Jaha's ear quickly and quietly.

After a moment of silent contemplation, Jaha held up his hand. "Byrne, release her."

"Sir-"

"No, Kane." He said. "She will be released on temporary probation to work on this issue. Jake, work with Raven and Abby to figure out the best place to dock for us to get them onboard but keep them away from more prying eyes and safely quarantined until we can be sure we won't accidentally kill each other with germs."

 Jake nodded and moved forward, grabbing Raven gently by the shoulders as Byrne and Shumway released her. She couldn't help but hug him. Jake was a little like a father figure to her, since she didn't have one. She had worked with him many times, and he was one of the few engineers that didn't annoy the fuck out of her.

 "Thank you." She whispered.

"I hope it was enough." Was all Jake had time to say before his wife joined them at a table off to the side. Jake pulled up a blueprint of the Ark on the screen built into the table, manipulating the touch panel with his fingers to look at different available docking ports.

"We don't want to make them travel far from wherever we dock them, that will increase potential exposure." Abby Griffin said. "The best place would obviously be in Medical, but there is not really a close place to dock that won't grab everyone's attention.”

Raven's mind was going a thousand miles an hour, the adrenaline from her close call still rushing through her. "What about the Skybox? They have a small medbay up there and they could be quarantined easily.” She knew this from when Finn had gotten a cold a few months before. She pulled up the section and zoomed in, “Plus there's an open dock that’s only ever used for repairs, and not really noticeable except from the Skybox itself.”

“That’s an excellent idea, Raven,” Jake said, a little too loudly, “I wouldn’t have thought of that, it’s perfect.”

Abby shot her husband a warning look, “Be careful Jake, you’re on thin ice yourself.” She whispered, and he clenched his jaw with a tight nod.

Kane had glanced his way with narrowed eyes before returning his attention to the screens. Jaha did not acknowledge the words at all as he was speaking to the soon-to-be visitors.

“So those are really people from the ground?” Raven managed to ask, craning her neck so she could make out the figures on the monitors.

“They are,” Raven recognized Clarke from the photo Jake kept on his desk as she sidled over to them. The girl was even prettier in person. At her parent’s look, she shrugged, “I’m here to assist mom with medical stuff, remember? So I should probably be over here.”

Jake nodded to her, wrapping his arm around her and giving her a little squeeze. Raven tried to shove off the envious feeling that engulfed her at the sight of the fatherly love. She was surprised as Abby rested a hand on her shoulder and whispered, “Jake’s right, that is a perfect idea, good job.” She let go after a moment, turning on her heels and returning to Jaha, where she whispered the plan into his ear, and he nodded.

 

* * *

After the commotion through the feed, which had revealed a girl, apparently sneaking around, Anya ducked down and whispered to Lexa, “ _Is this a show of their force to try and make us fear them?_ ”

They had watched the soldiers pull crackling sticks and prepare to strike whoever it was who made the noise, and then they had handled her roughly. Lexa was impressed by the nerve the girl had showed.

“ _No, I do not believe so._ ” Lexa replied, she had watched their expressions carefully. She was a little surprised, that they did not take her away as intended. The friendly looking man had spoken for her, and the leader had listened. The man, she learned, was called Jake. She watched him and the woman called Abby lead the girl, who was called Raven, away to the back of the room. Her heart skipped a beat moments later as she watched the blonde girl join them.

The dark skinned Chancellor had returned his attention to them, “Apologies for the interruption. My people are working out the best place to have you dock your ship. It will need to be done quickly, the majority of our people have been confined to safety zones, but the longer we take the more suspicious they will become. Once you have been cleared of quarantine, I will make an announcement to them.”

Lexa watched Abby return and say something to the Chancellor. He nodded. “Alright, Caspian, send them the schematic for,” he hesitated, “...the Section P-32 dock.” A man in the background began typing at the computer before him. “We will begin prepping the area for your arrival, when you enter, please have your suits on and secured to avoid contamination before we can be sure it’s safe.”

At their assent, he said, “Also, please leave any weapons on your shuttle.”

Anya flicked her eyes to Lexa, but Lexa looked to Gustus. He pretended to translate, “ _The man says no weapons.”_

“ _We will abide by it, as a show of good faith._ ” Lexa carefully responded in tones that did not sound like an order. That way the sky people would remain in the dark that she was in charge.

_“Heda, are you sure that is wise?_ ” Indra looked to Gustus as well.

_“Do as she says, Indra._ ” Gustus snapped.

Gustus carefully sheathed his knife and held it up before placing it in a netted compartment on the side of his seat, to show he was complying. Lexa and the rest followed his lead. She watched the faces of the sky people as they played out the interaction. She was fairly certain they had been convinced that Gustus was the one with the most authority aboard, which she could hopefully use to her advantage later.

While they were distracted, Jake had returned. “I know you’ll need to turn off your monitors to dock that boat,” He put on a headset, “So I’ll talk to you through this to make sure everything is squared away.” He held out a similar set to the Chancellor and to Raven.

“Kane, you and Shumway take Raven to the dock to get it set-up. Abby, Clarke, get everything you’ll need to the med bay down there.” Jaha said, and those people left.

The blonde girl was called Clarke. Lexa watched her walk off the screen, a longing she did not understand in the pit of her stomach.

“President Wallace,” When Jaha next spoke, Lexa gave a small start, she had almost forgotten the Mountain Man was on the screen still. “I look forward to having a longer chat with you once everyone is all settled.”

Wallace nodded, “I’ll introduce you to my son at that time.” The two made pleasantries for a moment, before Jake began speaking to Vincent on a technical level that Lexa couldn’t follow.

The screens went dark a moment later and raised into the ceiling out of the way.

“Better put your helmets back on.” Maya said, as she, Vincent and Keenan began to steer their shuttle toward the hulking metal beast before them, Jake's voice in their ears.

 

* * *

 "Clarke, honey." Abby tried to keep her tone light as she swept the empty medbay for contaminants. "We have to be very careful with these people, they could be dangerous."

"I know Mom." Clarke replied, "I'll be careful." The dock was in the hallway adjacent to the medbay so it was a simple matter to set up temporary walls of plastic sheeting, sealing them around so that from the dock to the medbay was sealed off from the rest of the hallway. Once the rest of the population was released, it would appear as a normal quarantine area and be avoided. She watched Raven as she donned a spacesuit under Kane's watchful eyes. Abby followed her gaze and sighed, "I hope we don't have to float her. She's so young."

Clarke nodded, Raven was only a few years older than her. Jake had often mentioned his favorite mechanic to work with. Clarke could see why, she was smart, and snarky.

"No you dolt." Raven said to Shumway, "I need the blue toolbox for this." The man grumbled as he returned the yellow box he had hastily grabbed back to its place.

"You are in no position to be calling anyone a dolt," Kane snapped.

Abby stepped in before Raven could retort. "Raven, can you check these scrubbers for me before you go out?" The girl nodded tightly and followed the doctor into the medbay.

Shumway grumbled to Kane, “Maybe we should just cut her line after she preps the dock.”

“No, you heard the Chancellor.” Kane’s reply was terse. “She’s under Jake’s watch after that stunt, but she’s the best damn mechanic we’ve got and we’re going to need her.”

 

* * *

 "Bell, you're giving me a headache."

Bellamy ceased his pacing and looked at his sister. "I'm sorry, O. I'm just anxious." There had never been an emergency while he'd been visiting lockup before. While he was grateful for the extra time with Octavia, he was still concerned. "It doesn't usually take this long."

Octavia just shrugged. He sat back in the chair across from her and fiddled with his hands. He looked around the room, at the other tables filled with kids and their visitors, the guards positioned strategically to monitor the goings on. The visiting room was one of the safe zones, so at least they hadn’t been shuffled into the cells or something.

His eyes fell on a girl, probably about his sister's age, maybe a few months older. She was damn pretty with flowing dirty blonde hair, and concerned chocolate eyes. Her shirt was cut low and his eyes appreciatively took in the cleavage it afforded-

"Bell!" Octavia probably would have smacked him, if the nearest guard wouldn't have done something. "Bell, that's gross, she's my age!" She hissed.

Her eyes had followed his line of sight and he scratched his neck looking sheepish. "Sorry O, can't help but look."

She just rolled her eyes, but after a moment she smiled softly at him. "Well, we’ve got time, tell me a story, Bell."

 

* * *

 "Lexa," Maya had flipped her headset to a secure channel so it was just the two of them. "You know the plan when we disembark right?"

"Yes." Of course she did.

"I need you to pick a password that you will remember. Preferably in your native tongue so they won't be able to guess it." She turned in her seat, a keyboard in her hand.

"Trigedasleng had no written form." Lexa hesitated.

"Can you sound it out with our letters?" Maya asked.

Lexa nodded, carefully pressing the buttons that had the letters she needed written on them after a moment's thought.

"Perfect." Maya returned to her previous duties as the shuttle neared the station.

"Ambassador to Ark," Keenan's voice carried through their ears, “we are prepared to dock."

"Copy, our mechanic just finished prepping the dock." Lexa could see the small figure, tethered to the outside of the Ark, floating toward the doors. She shivered at the thought of being outside, in the vast darkness. The figure slipped inside and the doors closed.

There was a mechanical grinding sound as the shuttle opened up. Though Lexa could not see it happening, she had seen the diagrams of what it would look like before they left. The portion of the shuttle just behind the cockpit where they were strapped in would unfold and allow the dock to connect  to them.

“Once we are locked, we’ll likely experience their artificial gravity,” Vincent warned, “So make sure you are seated.”

“Helmets secure?”

It took several minutes for the shuttle to unfold, as Jake’s voice told them adjustments that were needed to their position. Finally, there was a resounding clang, and they were jolted. A great hiss filled their ears as the shuttle latched firmly over the opening on the Station. They were vertical once more, but Lexa could see the station through the roof window. It was closer than she expected.

 

* * *

 “Everyone ready?” Jaha asked. Each of them had dawned a green hazmat suit. Kane stood at his right shoulder, Abby at his left. Shumway and Byrne stood at attention on either side of the double doors that would mark the entrance of the first ground dwellers since the bombs. Jake had made his way down from Go-Sci and stood next to his wife and daughter. Raven leaned against the wall in the back, still in her space suit trying to look uninterested as her eyes desperately took in the sight.

“Once our guests are secure, we will begin unloading the promised cargo.”

Raven thought it would be awfully impolite to enter their vessel like that, but she kept her mouth shut. The minutes ticked by as their guest still did not appear, and Jaha’s face began to show signs of concern.

Jake still had his headset and asked, “Is everything alright?” There was a muffled response, which he relayed, “They are adjusting back to gravity and gathering personal items, they will be along momentarily.”

The first of the grounders to climb out of the small doors and into the airlock was one of the mountain dwellers, the younger woman. The rest piled out behind her, the people that were from the outside hefted large packs that appeared to be made of animal skins with them, eyes scanning the area uncertainly. The last was the biggest man, the one who had spoken for them. He seemed to be struggling to fit through the small exit. Finally, one of the other men gripped his arm and yanked him out. Then he stood, his helmeted head nearly reaching the roof of the airlock.

They stood, two groups staring through glass at each other for several long moments, before Jaha indicated to Byrne to open the airlock.

With a hiss it opened, and, while still separated by the material of their respective safety suits, it was still the first time in 100 years, the ground and the sky met face to face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Okay, next time, real face to face meeting! Er well, helmet to helmet meetings I suppose, but that's closer!


	7. That's not Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The initial meeting seems to go fine...at first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yooooo! sorry for the delay on this, I had it half finished and then a bunch of life stuff came up.

Silence hung heavy in the air between them for several agonizing seconds as both groups took a moment to take in the fact that the others were real, flesh beings. Anya stared around, her expression carefully controlled to her usual stoic demeanor, but inside her nerves were buzzing. She glanced at Lexa and saw the same behind her masked expression.

Finally, the Chancellor took a small step forward, with a tentative breath he opened his mouth, “Welcome to the Ark.”

Gustus stepped forward, it was difficult to see his face because his bushy beard filled the lower half of his helmet. The sight gave Anya the urge to laugh, but she repressed it, her lips a thin flat line. The large man did his best to dip his head in greeting, though it was difficult to convey through the bulky suit, “Chancellor.” He hesitated as the man held his hand out to him.

The gesture was far too familiar for a first meeting, but perhaps this was the way of the Skaikru. Finally, Gustus steeled himself and gripped the man’s forearm tightly. Anya saw the two guards put their hands on their shock sticks, but they did not move. Surprise registered on the Chancellor’s face for a moment, but then it was gone, replaced by a careful smile as he gripped back, and then their arms released.

“I believe we will have more time for more formal introductions later, but for now, this is Marcus Kane,” He gestured to the man next to him, “My second in command.” He turned to his other side, “And this is Dr. Abigail Griffin and her daughter Clarke, they will need to run tests and monitor you in quarantine to be sure that we all remain safe from illness.”

Gustus gave them each a polite nod. Anya’s eyes found Lexa’s face, and her lip curled up in a slight smirk as she took in the expression. Lexa was quite capable of hiding her emotions from most people, but not her mentor. Despite her cool demeanor, Anya could read the intensity of  the way she was viewing the blonde girl. It was a look Anya had not seen on her face in years.

“Dr. Griffin, if you could show our guests to where they will be staying and begin running your tests while Marcus get’s them fitted with ID Badges.” Jaha turned back to the grounders, “Please excuse me, I need to address our people.”

* * *

Jake gave Clarke a reassuring pat on the shoulder as she followed her mother toward the quarantine ward. The grounders followed behind them, the ones from the outside walking with unsettlingly quiet steps despite their bulky suits. Kane disappeared to fetch the equipment to issue the ID badges.

Jaha took Jake aside, “What is the most plausible reason to have this emergency drill?”

“That a shuttle was launched on the planet and approached us with real live Earth-born humans aboard it.”

“Be serious.”

“I am being serious, Thelonious, tell the people the truth. They might be a little shocked, but if you do it delicately it will work out. And now that we know its possible to live on the surface, you can also tell them the truth about the life support system, no more excuses. We have less than a year worth of air left, we are going to have to work together to solve it.”

The chancellor bristled, “Jake, the people will riot. We will tell them about our visitors in due time, once we know more about them. Not yet. So what is a plausible reason for this drill? It’s clearly not solar flares.”

Jake sighed, “You’ll need to explain both the initial lockdown as well as the shaking when the shuttle docked. Best bet is likely a bacterial outbreak in the Skybox that needed to be stopped from spreading. The lockdown was to ensure all passageways were clear and clean. That explains the hazmat suits as well as this area being locked down. Then, while on lockdown, an unidentified object struck portions of the Ark. You didn’t end the lockdown until a mechanic had made sure nothing was damaged.” 

Thelonious nodded, it was a manageable enough excuse. “Very good. While I address the people, you run diagnostics on that shuttle and make sure it’s safe. Then we’ll go in and grab the supplies we were promised.”

“Shouldn’t we wait until our guests are settled and let them give us the-”

“No.” Jaha shook his head, “We don’t know a thing about those people Jake, we have to tread lightly. Just do it.” He marched away.

Jake stood, tight lipped, before turning to Raven, still leaning against the wall. He gestured toward the dock, “You ready?”

”Let’s crack that sucker open.”

* * *

 As they entered the clean space, and the disinfectants sprayed down on them, none of the grounders seemed too surprised, which Clarke took as a good sign that they had entered clean rooms before. The second set of doors led into the Prison Medical Ward. It was essentially a small hallway of cells set apart from the rest, with medical equipment.

There were eight rooms here, one served as the surgery, and another was filled with supplies. The rest were fitted with two beds in each. If ever there was a large outbreak, the cells themselves were all quarantined. 

They gathered in the surgery room, next to the window, so the ground people could feel a little less enclosed in the space. The Ark was rapidly approaching the day side of the planet, the early beams of sunlight peering over the curve of the planet now.

“Clarke, get the Geiger.” Clarke grabbed the small electronic box from the metal cart it was perched on and activated the device.

The box crackled as she pointed at each of them, the outsiders had high readings of radiation, the three from the mountain showed almost none. “The reading is a little high for some of them, but still within the acceptable range.” 

“I believe it’s safe for you to remove your suits now.” Abby told their guests, after checking the biohazard readings on her tablet.   

The large man, Gustus, repeated the words in their native tongue. They hesitated. It was finally the girl, the one with the intense green eyes, that raised her hands and untwisted her helmet first.

* * *

Lexa blinked as she breathed in the strangely sterile air, taking in the sound of the constant low hum of the station. She began the process of unstrapping the hefty suit. The girl, Clarke stepped forward with slightly hesitant hands to help. She was so close. Lexa wished the girl could take off her own suit, so she could see her unobstructed, but she tried to shake the thoughts from her mind.

The girl let out a surprised gasp as she stepped from the confines of the space suit. Following her eyes, Lexa worked out that it was perhaps surprise at her clothing, which must have been strange to her. Then she realized the girls gaze was lingering on her tattooed arm. 

A small wary smile graced her face as the girl finally looked up into her eyes, a slight pinkness to her cheeks. The girl pressed her hand to her chest, indicating herself, “I’m Clarke.”

Lexa paused a moment, before replying in kind, “ _Klark. Ai laik Lexa_.”

They stood only a few feet apart, just looking at each other. The sound of a clearing throat snapped them from their moment.

Clarke stepped away to assist Anya, who was giving Lexa that knowing smirk she sometimes wore. Lexa forced herself to not roll her eyes at her former mentor. She noticed the Mountain Men were still helmeted, and she wondered if it would be safe for them to remove their gear as well.

Keenan was looking longingly out the large window toward the planet, eyes absorbing the rays of the sun that she had never felt on her face. Maya and Vincent were both looking at the crackling device Clarke had used with worried eyes.

The doctor asked after their hesitance, and Vincent supplied the answer, “Our bodies are not adapted to handle radiation.”

“There hasn’t been any nuclear damage here-” Abby began, but Clarke interrupted with realization.

“The Solar Radiation,” Clarke’s eyes widened, “How did you even make it up here?”

Before any of them could answer, Abby said, “ If you made it this far, it might be safe in here, the entire cellblock is pretty well shielded against radiation for the solar-” Her words caused a ripple of fury through the grounders.

“ _Cellblock?_!” Indra bellowed, still confined by her heavy suit.

Tristan snarled, tearing his suit the rest of the way off, “ _We are prisoners?!_ ”

“ _Silence!_ ” It was Anya who spoke as Lincoln and Nyko stopped the angry warrior from leaping at the doctor, who had stumbled back in fear. “ _Stand down, Tristan._ ”

“ _You do not give me orders, Anya!_ ” He spat back.

“ _But I do._ ” Gustus replied, “ _I speak for the Commander. Do not cause a further scene. Do you understand?”_

He finally gave a terse nod, eyes flicking to Lexa in silent apology. His shoulders relaxed as Lincoln and Nyko released him.

* * *

 The doors had opened at sound of Tristan’s rage, and Byrne and Shumway entered, batons in hand.

Abby waved her hand at them, with a shaky breath she said, “It’s fine.” The guards remained in the room by the door, though they did put their batons back to their waists.

“You’re not prisoners,” Abby told them, “This was just the most convenient place to have you dock your ship and quarantine you without disturbing the rest of our people.” 

    While they had been distracted, Keenan had taken it upon herself to remove her helmet. After all, what did she really have to lose anymore? It was her joyful laugh that turned everyone’s head. She grinned, and ran up to the window to watch the sun rise over the planet. “I think you’re right Doc, I feel fine!”

    Maya hesitantly reached up to remove her helmet as well, but her father caught her arm, stopping her. “Wait-”

    “Mom-” Clarke began, her voice worried. Before she could say any more, Keenan’s giggles had turned into a shriek. Her face was rapidly reddening, her skin literally burning off her face before their eyes.

    Lexa leapt forward, grabbing the helmet the woman had dropped and jamming it back into place on her head, in the hopes that it would stop whatever was happening. Abby was a few steps behind, hitting a switch that slammed a metal sheet down over the glass of the window, and started an alarm blaring.

* * *

 “...There is no need to panic, the outbreak was quickly contained. However, as sweeps were being made, unidentified space debris struck portions of various stations, a mechanic was dispatched to check the damage and finding it safe, you are free to return to your duties.” Jaha droned on a few moments about minding the quarantine and reporting any symptoms...blah blah.

Bellamy had stopped listening. The guards had begun ushering the prisoners to return to their cells. He stood up and hugged his sister, “Same time next week?” A guard shouted at her to get moving. He gave her a little wave as she walked away. He began to follow the other visitors out the door, but just as he reached it, the quarantine alarm went off, slamming the door shut and locking him in the visitors room. 

* * *

 As soon as he ended the transmission, Jake’s face came onto a view screen, “Chancellor, there is a problem.”

“What is it?”

“There is a coded lock on their shuttle, it appears that attempts to break it might trigger an explosion-”

Before he could absorb the words, Marcus burst into the room, “Sir, the quarantine alarm has been tripped in the Prison Medbay-”

"Sir there is an incoming communication from Mount Weather!" Caspian's voice emanated through a speaker.

Thelonious rubbed at his temple where his migraine was growing.

* * *

 “How do you treat this?!” Abby asked the other two mountain people. Vincent was frozen in horror, Maya sobbing.

“Blood!” It was Lexa’s voice that broke through the panic.

“A transfusion.” Vincent finally snapped out of his stupor, “She’s A Negative.” 

Abby and Clarke moved the quaking girl to the nearest bed. Abby dashed to a cabinet, where there were packets of blood. She cursed, “They never restocked down here.” A minimal amount of blood was kept in this Medbay, since it was rarely needed in a rush down here, and there was none suitable for the girl.

“Good thing I’m O Negative,” Clarke managed, “Quick, take mine.”

 


	8. Sacrifice and Schemes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke makes a foolish decision, and everyone else has ulterior motives.

Abby stared at her daughter for a moment, “Absolutely not. Clarke, you’re not thinking this through, the only way to do that would break the quarantine-”

Clarke wasted no more time, carefully unzipping her suit, “Quarantine is broken, now quick, take my blood.” She quickly removed her own hazmat suit the rest of the way.

“That was reckless, Clarke.” With a sigh, Abby carefully hooked the unconscious girl up to the heart monitor so she could see her vitals. Clarke removed the girl’s helmet, replacing it with an oxygen mask, and began to strip away the space suit. She could see the grounders were concerned, so she began explaining as she moved. “We can’t treat her with the suit in the way.”

“But without the suit, she is dying.” Gustus rumbled.

Clarke pointed to the now shielded window, “Those shields are designed to protect from solar flares, it won’t stop all the radiation from getting in here, but it should slow it down long enough for us to work.” She set up the IV, “Hurry mom,” Her worried eyes ran over the girl; her heartbeat was all over the place.

    Abby went into full doctor mode then, carefully tying a tourniquet over Clarke’s left arm, sticking a needle into her vein and setting up the IV. It was only moments later when the blood began to flow through the tubing. Abby moved over to check the girl’s vitals, and set her up for the transfusion.

Clarke’s eyes settled on the grounders, huddled together across the room, unsure of what to do, she asked, “What’s her name?”

    “Keenan,” The mountain girl sobbed, as the grey haired man wrapped his arm protectively over her.

    “Commander Shumway, please alert Jake that we need 100% radiation shielding,” Abby said, not looking up from her task, “And have Dr. Jackson in Medical send down plasma; Clarke’s blood can start us off but we’ll need more, and the Dialysis rig.” The guard commander gave a stiff nod before exiting the room. “Come on Keenan, hang in there.”

    The blood was flowing from Clarke to the bag to Keenan. Clarke wanted to believe that she was looking better, but her heartbeat had gotten weak in the few minutes it had taken to start the transfusion. Then the heart monitor began to flatline.

* * *

 “I don’t think there is any way around it,” Jake said, eyeing the readings from the shuttle, “Even with the computers decoding it, it would take hours, and it looks like their is a timed failsafe built in to stop us trying that.”

Raven nodded, deep in thought. “My boy Monty is really good with computers-”

“Jake!” It was Shumway, “One of the-” He glanced around, realizing he was being loud and people were in the hallway just outside the quarantine zone leaving from the visiting room. He resumed more quietly, “One of the patients is experiencing a negative reaction to the solar radiation. Abby needs you to rig a way to keep all of it out.”

“We can rig a few extra scrubbers, and install some extra lead-lined plating in one of the rooms.” Raven suggested, “We won’t be able to keep it all out, but most of it, probably.”

Jake nodded, “Lets go.”

* * *

“She’s crashing!” Echo watched the doctor grab a pair of paddle-like devices. “Clear,” She pressed the devices into Keenan’s chest, a shock made the girls body quake. “Clear,” she repeated the process. When the device that indicated the mountain girl’s heartbeat did not resume, the doctor turned a dial on the devices, “Clear,” she tried again, and again.

But it was no use.

Finally, she stopped with a sigh,“We lost her. I’m so sorry.” There was genuine sadness in her voice. She stopped the flow of blood from the bag to Keenan’s lifeless body, and covered her with a sheet. Then she began to methodically remove the tubing from Clarke.

Maya was openly weeping into her father’s shoulder. Vincent himself had tears in his eyes, but he said, “We never expected to live anyway.”

* * *

 Thelonious found himself looking at the now familiar face of Dante Wallace, as well as another, younger man with slicked hair and an unsettling smile.

“Chancellor, this is my son Cage,” the older gentleman said, “I thought it best to introduce him sooner rather than later.”

He nodded his head to the man, “Greetings, I am Chancellor Thelonious Jaha.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Sir.”

“The reason I’ve contacted you so soon, is that our shuttle monitors indicate that you’ve been trying to get aboard our vessel without our people.”

    He sat up a little straighter, “We were not attempting to cross you, merely retrieve the supplies we were promised.”

    “And you will have them in due time, I assure you.” The old man said placatingly, “You have to understand though, we have to take precautions, our people up there are at your mercy, and we know nothing about each other.”

“So your precaution is sending a bomb up here?” He let his anger show as he spoke.

“The shuttle is only fitted with enough explosives to damage itself,” Dante replied, “It’s locked until our people are sure they are safe. Even I do not know the code to unlock it.”

Marcus returned at that moment, a grave expression on his face.

“Excuse me a moment, Gentlemen.” Thelonious muted the microphone for the transmission, “What’s happened now?”

* * *

 Lexa was saddened at the loss of Keenan, the woman had been sweet. Though her death was not entirely unexpected, Lexa felt herself wishing the girl could have lived and wanting the Sky people to figure out how to stop the same from happening to the other mountain people.

“Your fight is over.” She whispered. The rest of her people murmured the words beside her.

Abby covered Keenan’s lifeless form with a sheet, before unhooking Clarke from the tubing and gently ushering the grounders from the room, leaving Maya and Vincent a moment alone to grieve. Clarke stood up to follow, but only made it a few steps before faintness from the blood loss hit her. She nearly collapsed, but Anya was standing next to her, and had the reflexes to catch the girl.

Abby led them to the next room, which was significantly smaller, with only enough room for the two beds and some space between. Anya and Lexa deposited the faint girl onto one of the beds, while the rest waited in the hallway.

“You shouldn’t move for at least half an hour after the blood draw.” Abby opened a cabinet and muttered about restocking. She removed a small box, “Drink this. I’ll see if they can send some crackers down. Once you are feeling better we’ll do the samples.” Clarke nodded, opening the box with shaking hands and swallowing the liquid.

The doctor turned to Anya and Lexa, “I need to ask the others how they treat this, so we can stop them from suffering the same fate. Could you keep an eye on my daughter? Get me if she faints.”

Anya merely stared, still pretending she did not speak the language.

“I know you understand us,” Clarke spoke up, looking at Lexa, “you said, ‘Blood’ earlier.” Lexa gritted her teeth, mad that the mountain men had frozen and she’d been forced to blow that cover.

Anya gave a nod to Abby after a moment, “We will watch her.”

“I’ll be fine mom, go.” At that, the doctor hesitantly stepped out of the room.

Lexa heard her speaking to Gustus in the hallway, “If you would like to settle into the rooms while I check on the others-”. She tuned out the rest of the doctor’s words. It left her and Anya to stand awkwardly by the girl.

The girl smiled at them weakly, “I’ll be okay as soon as I eat something, sit down if you like.” Anya nodded, her face impassive as she carefully placed herself on the other bed to watch the girl as tasked.

Lexa had an idea, Tristan had carried her pack from the other room while she helped the Sky girl, and she took it from him in the hallway. She fished out a small pouch of dried deer meat and held it out to the surprised girl.

“Thank you,” Clarke tentatively took a small piece of the offered meat, and looked at it in wonder, “Real meat.” Lexa’s eyes were glued to the sky girl’s face as she hesitantly sniffed it and placed it into her mouth. She felt her heartbeat in her throat when Clarke let out a small moan. “It’s good.” Her eyes trained back to Lexa, “Thank you.”

Lexa hesitated, glancing at Anya. Her mentor was pretending to be bored, but she was paying close attention to the encounter. Now that the language gap wasn’t  a hindrance, Lexa decided perhaps befriending the sky girl was the best route. She could be useful. Of course. That was her only motive.

“Do you not have meat?” The question sounded foolish when she thought about it. The sky people did not keep animals, as far as she was aware.

But Clarke replied, “We do, but it’s different. Its grown in laboratory conditions.” Clarke put another small piece of meat in her mouth, savoring the strange but wonderful taste.

“Like a plant?” Lexa took some meat from the pouch as well, getting hungry watching the girl eat, and hesitantly sat on the edge of the bed.

“Sort of. It’s made up of the same cells, but it tastes different because it didn’t grow by consuming other things like a real animal would. Mostly we eat soy, which is a plant that replaces a lot of the nutrients in meat. But we eat some so we won’t lose the ability to digest it.” Clarke looked thoughtfully at the meat she had been about to put in her mouth, “What was this?”

It took Lexa a moment to process what the girl meant, “Deer.”

“Thank you for sharing it with me.” The sky girls smile made Lexa’s stomach knot again. She tried to remind herself that she just wanted to use her, but she was not very convincing, even to herself.

* * *

 He was leaning against a wall in a fairly deserted corridor . If anyone walked by they would assume he was alone, perhaps taking a break. But he knew better, could hear the shallow breaths through the wall. He relayed what he knew, and was rewarded for his work by the pleasure in her voice.

"That's very interesting. Good work, Commander Shumway." He smiled. "Forget the old plan, here's what I need you to do..."

* * *

“President Wallace,” Jaha’s face was grim, coming through the communication. Dante shared a small look with his son.

    “Yes Chancellor?”

    “I regret to inform you, that I have just been informed that one of your people has succumbed to radiation poisoning.”

    Cage gripped his father’s arm tightly, “Which one?”

    That gave Jaha pause, and Cage’s anger flared that the man hadn’t even bothered to learn the name of the victim. The man looked to someone off camera, “The older woman, Keenan.” Cage felt his heart clench, and he spun away in anger. He’d known this would happen, been expecting it, right? Right? He ran a hand through his hair despondently.

His father continued the conversation, he could hear Jaha’s words.   

    “-quarantine, removed her suit in front of an unshielded window, to look at the Earth, and became ill very suddenly. Our doctors attempted to give her a blood transfusion, but she succumbed to Cardiac arrest.”

    “And the others?”

    “Are still in their suits, and my best people are fitting another room to better filter the radiation. Now that we are aware of the issue, our doctors will do all they can to help them.”

    “Thank you Chancellor,” Dante said heavily, “They volunteered for this mission with full knowledge that they would likely perish.” Cage clenched his fist. He had said the same thing before, he knew, but the reality of it... He steeled himself. It was a necessary sacrifice, it had to be done for his plan to unfold.

“There is another slight hiccup.” The Chancellor went on, “In order to do the transfusion, the doctor’s assistant, her daughter Clarke, broke quarantine to donate blood.”

Cage watched his father pale. If the girl carried illnesses their systems couldn’t handle, they might all die anyway.

Dante nodded, “We can only hope then.”

 


	9. Who you Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has an agenda, and no one really knows who they can trust. But Clarke has her dad.

Anya was side-eyeing Lexa as she interacted with the sky girl. It was strange to see Lexa letting her guard down in this manner. In some way it was kind of nice, seeing the girl who was her second again, instead of the solemn commander she had become. But Anya felt wary as well. If Lexa opened up again, only to be hurt, it could destroy her.

“What’s it like? Down there I mean.”

Lexa closed her eyes clearly searching for the best words, but it was Anya who answered first, “Nothing like this place.” The two turned to look at her, and she regarded them with her steely gaze, “It’s vast and open, and brimming with life.” She closed her eyes. “The smell of the woods, just after a rainfall, there is nothing like it.” She stopped herself after that, not wanting to overshare.

“I’d like to witness it someday,” Clarke was gazing at her hands.

“I would like to go back.” Anya agreed, in softer tones.

* * *

 Raven lifted her welding mask, wiping the sweat from her forehead and looked at her handiwork. It wasn’t the neatest weld job she had ever done, but it was sealed. She and Jake had hauled a stack of junk plating up from Mech Station to the Skybox and spent the past 35 minutes trying to make a space that could block out the radiation.

“Looks good, kid.” Jake grinned from the other side of the room, where he had just finished a weld. She noted with satisfaction that hers still looked cleaner than his. Of course, as chief engineer, he didn’t often get the chance to practice working on machines, instead writing equations and plans and checking others work. How boring.

“Think this hunk of junk will do its job?” She asked.

They had chosen a room on the inner wall of the Ark, so no window to worry about and more insulation from the surrounding station. With these extra lead plates, they hoped to dampen the radiation further. It had already been sealed off from the rest of the quarantine so they could work out of the bulky radiation suits.

Jake nodded, “Better get those scrubbers up and running too, I’ll finish up with this.” Raven pulled off her bulky work gloves and grabbed her tools to get started adjusting the extra scrubbers they were going to install to clean the air more thoroughly.

It wasn’t long later when the intercom pinged, and Abby’s voice called out to Jake. Raven didn’t hear exactly what was said, she could just make out “Clarke,” above the thrum of the equipment she was adjusting. Jake looked concerned, he gave Raven an apologetic look before making his way out of the room. She sighed and continued working.

* * *

 “Hey Dad,” Thelonious had finally managed to get away from the chaos, and back into his suite, only to have his son arrive moments later, shattering the quiet.

“Wells,” He tried to give the boy a warm smile, but knew he wasn’t quite pulling it off.

“What’s going on?”

He let out a heavy sigh, “Son, I cannot reveal all of what is happening, it’s classified.” He hated to see the crestfallen expression on his son’s face but he had to do it.

“I can’t find Clarke.” There was clear concern in his son's voice.

“Clarke was helping Abby with the quarantine, and unfortunately was exposed to possible pathogens, she’s fine, but needs to stay there to be safe.”

“Oh.” Wells thought a moment, “Can I visit her in a clean suit? Maybe some chess would cheer her up.”

“Unfortunately due to the nature of the situation, only crew working in the area are allowed in. No visitors.” Thelonious was firm, but relented slightly, “But chess is a good idea, I’ll have a board sent down to her later.”

Wells smiled, “I could video chat her and play that way.”

“Perhaps.” He glanced at his watch, before rushing toward the door, “I have another meeting.”

“Don’t forget to eat again.” Wells called after him, and he waved back with a small smile tugging his lips.

* * *

 Jasper had always had trouble sitting still. He dropped the whiteboard with the failed chemical equation onto his bunk with a sigh and stood up. Monty watched him, amused as he made the leap from his bunk, reaching for the high sill of the window in their cell. His long fingers made the grab easily but he slammed heavily into the metal wall, his feet having failed to catch it in time.

“Urgh.”

“Try not to hurt yourself, with a medical emergency going on, the docs probably won’t be able to see you.” Monty joked.

“I’m fine!” Jasper was struggling to gain purchase against the wall, and Monty sighed, standing up to give him a boost. As his foot found Monty’s shoulder, Jasper said a sheepish,

“Thanks.”

“Maybe one of these days you’ll be able to do it yourself.” Monty grumbled good-naturedly as Jasper perched himself on the thin sill, looking out.

“Holy shit!” Jasper sputtered. He had climbed into the very sill many times to look out at the Ark and the Earth, and the vastness of space, it was all a far better view than the metal walls of the cell. But this time, something was different. “Monty- there’s a- Holy Shit!”

“What?” Monty standing in the middle of the room, wasn’t at the right angle to see anything but a few stars.

Jasper looked down at him, his mouth hanging open, “There’s a fucking shuttle.”

Monty’s eyes narrowed, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, attached to that dock.” He pointed at an angle at the glass, he wasn’t in the best spot to view it, but it was there, “Is a fucking shuttle, that has never been there before.” He squinted at it, trying to make out what it read. “It says ‘The Ambassador’ on the side.” He looked back at Monty in wonder, only to find his friend raising a skeptical eyebrow. “Really!”

“Uh huh, sure.” Monty resumed his post on his bed, picking up his whiteboard and opening the battered math textbook he was using.

“No really, I’m not kidding this time!”

Monty kept working.

“Get up here!”

Monty scoffed at that.

Jasper hopped down, landing on the metal floor with a loud clang. Being the second loud noise in just a few minutes, it attracted the attention of the guards outside. ”Shit,” Jasper leapt back onto his bed, grabbing his whiteboard as the door opened to an annoyed guard telling them to stop whatever it was they had been doing.

“Sorry sir.”

* * *

“Mr. Blake.”

“Captain Shumway,” Bellamy stood up. He had been corralled into a cell after the second lockdown went off, and no one had told him anything.

“Actually its Commander Shumway now.”

Bellamy shrugged tensely, his dislike of the man clear in his gaze. “So, what is going on?”

“That’s classified.” Bellamy rolled his eyes. “I have a job for you.”

“With all due respect, you can go float yourself.”

“I’ll let you think about it for a while.” Shumway’s face twitched as he made to leave, “Consider though, that you don’t want anything bad to accidentally befall that parasite you call a sister.” He was gone before Bellamy could respond. His shoulders slumped as he leaned back against the wall.

* * *

Cage burst into his father’s office, heaving breaths from running all the way down from the command center. “Its...happening...have to get...the Outsiders...inside the...mountain.” He wheezed.

Dante straightened his tie carefully, before reaching for the radio that had been set up to contact the outsider in charge of the local village in case of emergency.

* * *

“We have checked and rechecked the room.” Abby told them, as they passed through the double barriered doors into the extremely clean room. “You can take your suits off in here.”

“Thank you,” Vincent said, but he made Maya wait until he had taken his suit off, and a few minutes more before he allowed her to do the same. The room was even more cramped with the additional plating lining the walls, and loud from the additional scrubbers, but it felt nice to be out of the confines of the bulky suits. The two beds were pushed to one side, and medical equipment that Maya found vaguely familiar was on the other side.

“I’m afraid a small amount of radiation is inevitably going to make it in here,” Abby was saying, “We can run the dialysis machine and see if that helps. If not, once Clarke has recovered, I’m sure she’s willing to volunteer again.”

Maya had seen the doctor’s concern when she had called her husband aside to tell him what their daughter had done for them. The loss of Keenan stung, but she couldn’t help but be touched that the girl had been willing to risk so much for a stranger. At the same time though, now she had worried her parents, and it hadn’t helped. There was some resentment there too, but she tried to ignore it. Dr. Griffin was putting on an incredibly brave face in spite of her fears.

“Initial exams indicate that Clarke’s blood was helping Keenan, just not quickly enough.” The doctor finally said.

Maya spoke up, “Your people are exposed to more radiation than the Outsiders, you probably have more efficient systems for cleaning it out of your blood.”

Abby nodded thoughtfully. “You may be right. We’ll know more with some additional testing. I’ll have some food sent down. Clarke should be almost recovered enough to help me do the testing we need to do. If you need anything, use the intercom.” She gestured at the device on the wall.

* * *

Lexa looked up in surprise, tensing and prepared to attack if necessary, as someone bustled through the door, clad in a bulky green suit. She released some of the tension a moment later, recognizing Jake from earlier.

“Dad!” Clarke was smiling, clear joy in her voice at the sight of the man. Lexa felt her stomach flip at the sight, but then she caught Anya’s smirking eyes and rolled her own back.  
He was carrying a couple boxes but he set them down on the floor. Lexa shifted herself to sit on the other bunk with Anya to give them space.  
He stepped forward to engulf his daughter in his strong arms. Lexa felt a momentary pang of something.

Jealousy?

Was it for the familial relationship? Her parents had been gone since she was small. But she had Anya and Gustus to look out for her, though it had been a long time since she had embraced either of them. Or was it for him being so close to the girl that was admittedly fascinating to her? Then guilt wracked her. She was the Commander after all, she should not feel these things. Putting on her former persona of Anya’s second, and not the Commander, she decided, was taking a toll on her.

She shook herself from the thoughts to watch Jake pick up the top box as he spoke animatedly to his daughter. “-thought you could use a few things while you are in quarantine.”

The pure delight on the girl’s face made Lexa- no. She didn’t want to think about it, she could not let herself. Anya leaned over in that moment and cautioned quietly, “ _Tread with care, Lexa. Trust is not a luxury we can afford ourselves with these strange Sky people._ ”

Lexa simply nodded. Clarke had removed a worn book from the box as well as a small cloth pouch. Jake was smiling at her, the skin around his eyes crinkling as he shared in his daughter’s joy.

“And don’t forget Mr. Wiggles!” He pulled something fluffy from the box and gently shook it in her face.

“Dad!” Clarke yelped in surprise, grabbing what Lexa realized was some sort of stuffed animal toy, though she could not distinguish what it was meant to be. Clarke hugged the toy to herself for a moment, before noticing Anya and Lexa’s eyes on her and blushing, before stuffing it under her pillow, cheeks flushed.

Clarke returned her attention to the box.

“That was Wells’ idea.” He told her as she removed another item, it appeared to be a worn box. She opened it, and removed a folded board with a checked pattern from the top. Nested in a soft material below were two sets of carved figurines, one set black, the other white. Clarke looked up toward Lexa and Anya.

”Have you played chess before?”

Lexa shook her head, but Anya surprised her, “Yes Sky Girl, my father taught me many years ago.”

Clarke smiled, “Perhaps we can have a game later.” The final item in the box was one of their strange handheld screens.

“Your mother thought you might want to review your studies.” Jake told her, then at her slightly off-put expression, “That one’s connected to the mainframe though, so if you wanted to stream music or a movie, you could do that too.”

“You’re the best, Dad!” Clarke was hugging him again.

“Well, you’re the best kid!” He spoke softly then, “You’re so brave Clarke, but you have to remember to take care of yourself too.” His forehead was creased with worry. And she nodded in response.

Anya’s stomach chose that moment to make itself known, rumbling loudly. Lexa reached for her pack, but stopped at Jake’s words.

“That was the other thing.” He grabbed the other box, opening it, “It’s not a feast, but its food.”

When Lexa saw the contents, she wasn’t quite sure she believed him.

* * *

“ _Ryder?_ ”

“ _Come quickly Tris. Anya bid me watch over you._ ” The hulking man whispered. It was late into the night, Tris had just come off her guard shift and collapsed heavily onto her bedding. “ _We must make haste to the Mountain._ ”

Tris shuddered. Despite the treaty, the Mountain still felt eerie to her. She would avoid any interaction with it or its people if she could. “ _Why, Ryder?_ ”

He hesitated, “T _here is an attack coming. The Mountain will keep us safe._ ” He felt her bristling in indignation that he didn’t think she was warrior enough to come to the defense of the village. “ _It will hurt the young and the elders, we need to get them to safety._ ”

Tris accepted that with a sigh.

“ _It will do Anya proud._ ”

Tris nodded and began pulling her armor on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, a combination of writers block and life things are to blame for this late posting. I took some time to map out further chapters a little, so hopefully the next update won't take so long, and hopefully I won't write myself into a corner.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!


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